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Thursday, 19 May 2016

The conservateur extraordinaire Messy Nessy Chic presents the history of the violent Paris Riots of May 1968, which brought France to the brink of civil war, through protest posters and other art work of the revolution. Although much studied, vividly remembered by contemporaries and very much in keeping with the times when waves of societal unrest swept across the globe, no one can cite a quick or definitive explanation why the revolts occurred. The movement was an amalgam of various leftists student organisations consisting of anarchists, Maoists and anti-capitalists occupied factories and financial institutions and at the height of the riots, convinced more than twenty percent of the working population of France to go on strike.After the violence dissipated, which saw the president flee the country, matters seemed to return to normal—perhaps a little too quickly, and the protesters fell short of their stated goals of promoting equality and social justice with the old regime that they rallied against returning to office with what they considered a stronger mandate, not that the acts were all in vain. I wonder what people will make of our contemporary movements that are just as contemptible to some in a few decades. Be sure to visit the website to peruse the extensive gallery of protest posters and to learn a bit more about getting caught up in le Zeitgeist.